“… only 12 percent (of the survey respondents) believe their organizations are excellent at effectively driving the desired culture.”

The tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man… it constitutes the powerful obstacle to culture. ~ Sigmund Freud

What Happened To All Of The Simple Lessons Your Parents Taught You?

You probably experienced several similar events as these:

“You grabbed the last piece of cake before your sister could get it?”

“The principal called and said you broke another girl’s toy because she got to it first?”

“You pushed a boy on the playground because that boy got the last place on the teeter-totter?”

As I recall, these were followed closely by something like this:

“You know better than that!”

“You Know Better Than That!”

What made them think that we knew better than that?

It probably wasn’t written down anywhere since at that age, we couldn’t read much more than “Jack and Jill went up the hill”.

Our parents weren’t present at any of these events, and probably never identified these specific incidents …

Who should get the last piece of chocolate cake?

What does taking turns mean when the same kid always hogs the same toy?

What to do when someone cuts in line ahead of us?

But It’s Not Fair!

How many times did we hear “you know better than that?” while we vehemently denied any misdeed even though we kinda knew what “know better” meant?

We usually responded with something like,

“That’s not fair.”

(Of course, we learned much later that “fair” is truly a 4-letter F-word)

We Were Taught A Code Of Moral Conduct

People have come to me over the years and said to me: ‘I admire the culture of Starbucks. Can you come give a speech and help us turn our culture around?’ I wish it were that easy. Turning a culture around is very difficult to do because it’s based on a series of many, many decisions, and the organization is framed by those decisions. ~ Howard Schultz, Founder & CEO

Through word and deed, our parents nourished us with a code of moral conduct formulated with a recipe of standard ingredients.

Respect for others.

Sharing.

Taking turns.

Using our words not our fists.

Looking out for those less fortunate.

Even turning the other cheek.

Is your culture starting to look like a petri dish?

Some pretty strong words — “toxic and destructive” — have shown up as people have tried to explain Uber’s culture.

Outsiders may never know where the truth lies, but the controversy highlights some fundamental cultural differences between making money and serving clients.

It’s Easy When the Decisions are Convenient

When the decisions are convenient, it’s easy to say we do both.

We serve our clients to the best of our ability and it makes us money.

What could be better than that?

What About When Times Are A Little Tougher?

What happens when times are a little leaner?

When making money is an awful lot harder?

Do we still serve our clients’ best interests … or do we tend to compromise on what serves them best?

Are we focused on getting them to buy our product or service simply because we need the money regardless of how it meets their needs?

It’s Tempting To Gamble With Client Relationships

Yes, it would be easier if we could masterfully combine these concepts and neatly arrange them on a silver platter.

We know it’s possible to make money while serving our clients.

It’s just that when there are conflicting choices in front of us, it’s tempting to gamble with client relationships to meet our short-term objectives.

Don’t do it. No Exceptions.

We believe that it’s really important to come up with core values that you can commit to. And by commit, we mean that you’re willing to hire and fire based on them. If you’re willing to do that, then you’re well on your way to building a company culture that is in line with the brand you want to build. ~ Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos

On any given day, these decisions are difficult, but reasonable leaders can disagree about what serves the best interests of the client.

You can be sure, however, that if you want to build a thriving business, with a sustainable value proposition, you need to focus intensely on meeting the best interests of your customers every single day.

No exceptions.

Don’t Line Your Pockets.

Line your customer’s pockets.

At certain times, the compromises may not seem worth it.

But your business will be at great risk when your customers learn – and you can be sure they will – that you are too eager to sell them products they don’t need and services they don’t want in the interest of lining your pocketbook instead of theirs.

A Lifetime to Build Trust. A Moment to Lose It.

As we know, it can take a lifetime to build trust … and a single moment to lose it all.

Leadership is about doing the right thing … not just anything.

Don’t let the trusted relationships with your clients become the first casualty of expediency or short-term objectives.

Just ask Mom and Dad.

They knew it all along.

Question: What’s the single thing you would change to improve your company culture?

Hop on over to our Facebook Page to leave your comment or question. I visit it every day and look forward to hearing from you and expanding our discussion of these ideas and concepts.

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Testimonials

In my former position as a tax partner at KPMG, LLP, I worked closely with Lary on the tax aspects of the plethora of business issues that arise in the life cycle of a start up company. It was unusual to see a senior finance person demonstrate a seasoned business acumen in identifying issues and opportunities, grasping the technical issues, resolving obstacles and implementing change. ~ Jeffrey Bergmann, V.P. Worldwide Tax

Lary was an important component in helping us raise our first (over-subscibed) fund at Harbour Group. His doggedness, professionalism, and friendly demeanor helped open doors for what, at the time, was an untested and reasonably new concept. He was a pleasure to work with and remains a friend to this day.
~ Ralph Lobdell, Chairman, Tripos, Inc.

Within a three year period I had two different startups and one acquisition to deal with. Lary's involvement in the projects allowed me to raise substantial amounts of capital on all occasions. He makes even the most monumental task seem effortless. His tireless attention and focus on the project gets things done, done right, and under deadline. ~ Don Meahan, owner and operator of Alaska’s Naknek Anglers, LLC

Lary has a remarkable ability to provide a clear and thoughtful analysis of the business drivers and potential outcomes facing private companies at each stage of development. His insight has provided a powerful framework for decision-making in many challenging situations. ~ Noah J. Rosenkrantz, CEO

We have a great management team that has built a very successful company. At an important crossroads, we needed more expertise on an expanded list of financial issues than we could provide ourselves. Lary brought that expertise, providing the depth of knowledge and experience that helped us develop and implement a practical solution.
~ Gary Imm, CEO (retired)

Not only do you get honesty and integrity from Lary but you also get creativity, maturity and deep business acumen. Lary is the diamond in the rough for middle market companies in need of corporate advisory services and transaction services. ~ Kelly O. Kay, Partner, Center for Corporate Innovation

Lary is one of the brightest and most energetic professionals with whom I have ever worked. His skills in dealing with privately held firms and the aggressive and creative solutions made him a valuable asset to any business. ~ F. Bart Smith, President (retired)

I've known and worked with Lary for more than 15 years as a business partner, consulting colleague and adviser and have found that Lary's financial skills and creativity result in high quality results for his clients. I am certain that Lary's strong work ethic, client focus and successful track record bode well for future clients just as they have formed the foundation of a long-term and highly valued relationship for me. ~ Kevin J. Sharps, Director, Financial Services Consulting practice

Lary has been a tremendous asset to our company. His experience and knowledge provides our young company with the type of financial and business guidance needed to facilitate our continued growth. In addition to Lary's efforts in raising capital for our company, he has assisted Multimedia Live in both extensive business planning, as well as continual ongoing monthly financial and strategy analysis of our business. I have found this to be an invaluable service. ~ Ken Burke, CEO, Multimedia Live, Inc.

Lary brings to the table a wealth of real world wisdom and experience that is grounded in an impressive array of C-level and other executive leadership and operational management roles. Over the years I have found Lary's advise and counsel to be invaluable, I think in part because of his dedication and commitment to being of true value to his clients and colleagues. Lary has a well-honed ability to ask the right (and often difficult!) questions, to shed light on the most challenging aspects of your business, to share best practices and to guide you to valuable solutions to consider. I recommend Lary without hesitation. If you are a CEO or senior level executive, working with Lary will no doubt prove to be one of the smartest decisions you will make during your career.~ David Newlin, Managing Partner

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About Me

I am a leadership coach and a professional author and speaker, facilitating leadership groups among CEOs and senior business leaders in the SF Bay area.

I am the author or more than 125+ newspaper columns published by the SF Bay affiliate of the NY Times among the 500+ articles here. I have also written 3 ebooks about Leadership & Business Finance.

I have been married forever to a beautiful woman and have one spectacular daughter who has dedicated her life to helping children with life-threatening illnesses.
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Ready to mix it up a little?

If you're a fan of the Mystery-Thriller-Suspense genre, you can enjoy a little diversion and dive into some of the great reads you'll find here. I intend to stimulate your discovery of the good, the bad and the only genre where a ranch breakfast is a steel metal jacket dipped in cordite. Have fun!